The transition to university is drastic – and not everyone sails through it. That’s why university mental health setups are second to none

At the beginning of his second year at Loughborough University, Rahul Mathasing started struggling. His moods were becoming darker, his motivation disappeared and he started missing lectures. He approached the...

Money is a huge obstacle for people trying to get into the arts. We need positive policies – even quotas – to improve diversity

I’ve been acting professionally for more than 25 years now, but I know what it’s like to have that dream jeopardised by a lack of money. I never received a grant for drama school. My first year’s fees were cobbled togeth...

My Café Scientifique project brings academics and the public together in an informal setting. It has been a revelation

Twenty years ago, Café Scientifique was born, borrowing from the French tradition of café philosophiques, where challenging ideas are discussed in the informal setting of a cafe or bar. That it’s still going is testament to just ...

Funding crisis means some UK headteachers spend more than 50% of their time seeking charity for essential subjects

The village of Benenden in Kent has a green nearly as big as a football pitch. At one end stands a charming stone church. On the western edge is a picturesque mid-19th century building out of which, at 9.15am on a Wednesday, a strea...

The government needs new ways to attract more teachers if it’s not willing to fund a competitive salary

Teachers are the envy of the country during the summer break, snoozing and reading for six weeks. But spare them a thought: when they finished term last month they had no idea what salary they would return to in September. The cowardly governme...

A scheme lauded by Barack Obama is steering pupils out of hardship and into university

Two years ago Phoenix academy in Shepherds Bush, west London, was put in special measures. Its headteacher, Oli Knight, knows that turning around academic performance and behaviour in a school where many students come from challenging backgrounds isn’t easy. Bu...